People v. Nunez CA2/8

Filed 12/18/20 P. v. Nunez CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

THE PEOPLE, B302671

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VA139753) v.

JOSE RAMOS NUNEZ,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Olivia Rosales, Judge. Affirmed. John F. Schuck, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Steven D. Matthews and J. Michael Lehmann, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. __________________________

Jose Nunez fatally shot his brother-in-law in the chest and head for no apparent reason. A jury convicted him of first degree murder and found true firearm enhancement allegations. In a prior opinion, we affirmed the judgment of conviction, but remanded the case for the trial court to exercise its discretion whether to strike the firearm enhancement allegations. The court declined to do so, and Nunez appealed. We affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND1 The morning of August 2, 2015, Nunez was at home with his wife, Deborah Nava, and his four children. At the time they were living with Deborah’s brother, Joe Nava.2 Deborah heard a gunshot, and she ran to the back of the house where she saw Nunez holding a rifle. Nunez was reluctant to give up the firearm, but one of his children was eventually able to wrestle it away from him. The child then threw the rifle in a swimming pool. Deborah ran to Joe’s bedroom and found him on the floor, unresponsive. Joe suffered gunshot wounds to his chest and the back of his head, both of which were fatal. There were no signs that Joe had been in a struggle before he was shot. According to one of his children, Nunez had recently been mourning the death of a family member and appeared depressed. The child had seen Nunez drinking the day before the shooting. Another child said Nunez becomes paranoid when he drinks alcohol.